There are many existing prior art methods for control and stabilization of aerial systems. Many modern flight vehicles, such as airplanes, employ various methods for controlling and stabilizing flight characteristics. Examples of these include flaps and rudders in wings, pilot-controlled rotors, gyroscopes, accelerometers, auto-stabilization algorithms, and automatic power-adjusted propulsion systems.
When effecting control of a flight vehicle, typically a user will perform an action such as rotating a steering column or pressing a control lever, causing the flight vehicle to turn in the direction specified by the user. This is performed by adjusting a mechanical aspect of the flight vehicle, such as for example a rudder. In some modern flight systems, movement of the aircraft in the manner specified by the user is augmented by computer algorithms that adjust trajectory in a certain manner. In such systems, the operator generally does not adjust their actual position or orientation, but adjusts a control apparatus or device. In multi-rotor vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) flight vehicles, such as quadcopters, controlling the flight vehicle may be performed by changing the rotor speed of one or some of the rotors based on operator input.
For flight vehicle stability, some systems rely on wings, while others depend on rotors and counter forces, such as the tail rotor of a helicopter. Additionally, many modern flight systems use computer stabilization algorithms in combination with wings, or gyroscopes/accelerometers. The latter is especially common in multi-rotor vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) style vehicles, to sense when the flight vehicle is no longer level, an adjust the speeds of certain rotors to level the flight system.
Additionally, some stabilization techniques use an outside frame of reference, such as a camera that tracks various parts of the flight vehicle or connected devices or systems, such as an object hanging from the flying device, or resting on top of the flying device. When these tracked points of the flight vehicle or connected devices or systems move in a certain way, as specified and recognized by the control algorithms, the control algorithms direct the flight vehicle to take some action (such as increase rotor speed to a particular rotor), in order to keep the flight vehicle stable.